Dvoretsky’s Analytical Manual (2nd edition)

By Mark Dvoretsky

Dvoretsky’s Analytical Manual (2nd edition)

Russell Enterprises (2013)

424 pages (paperback)

$29.00

Reviewed by John Donaldson

The second edition of DVORETSKY’S ANALYTICAL MANUAL by Mark Dvoretsky is must reading for any ambitious player rated over 2200. There is a wealth of training material designed both to increase the student’s knowledge and their analytical skills. The material is organized into five chapters: Immersion in the Position, Analyzing the Endgame, Games for Training Positions, Practical Psychology and Lasker the Great. The latter includes a 28 page analysis of Edward Lasker - Emanuel Lasker, New York 1924, that concludes with the famous rook and pawn versus knight ending. Dvoretsky has strong words for those who think that today’s best would make mincemeat of world champions of the past.

“What inspires me most is Lasker’s fantastic defense in the endgame. After his opponent’s missed win (72...Rh8? instead of 72...Rd7+), the former world champion spent 30 moves holding on to a most difficult position. Many hours of analysis, aided by computers, has established that in this endgame, Lasker only made one subtle mistake (75.Ke4?, instead of 75.Kc3!) in contrast to the annotators (among them, two world champions) who, working at their leisure, and able to move the pieces on the board, erred repeatedly. Meanwhile, Lasker’s best years were already long past (55 years old is a more than respectable age for serious work at the chessboard). He was also exhausted and undoubtedly disappointed by the unfortunate turn this game had taken for him. But his iron will and superb chess mastery overcame all obstacles. I doubt that any modern grandmaster would be capable of such exploits!”